Note: the South Beach location is no longer a Burger and Beer franchise and has changed names. Unsure if they still have gluten-free buns.

After a somewhat early night out in South Beach (ie. ending around 11 PM), my friends and I were pretty hungry and a few people wanted to eat at Burger and Beer Joint in Sunset Harbor. That was totally fine with me and I was a pretty big fan of their burgers (original blog post from several years ago here). The patties themselves were great quality (you can can get prime Angus, Wagyu, bison, turkey, etc.) and pretty delicious, plus they had a lot of good toppings either in their specialty burgers or that you could add in a make-your-own burger. A good patty and good toppings are what’s most important to me since I can’t eat burger buns. I also enjoy their selection of fries (skinny, Duck fat fries, and sweet potato fries). I actually hadn’t been in a long time. I used to go pretty often when I lived in Brickell to the location there. It was a go-to when you weren’t sure what you wanted to eat, plus to watch games (have some ciders on draft or in bottles, which was another plus). After moving out of Brickell (along with a lot of my friends) I had maybe been only once in the last year.

I’ll let you check out the old blog post for more a run-down on Burger and Beer in general, but long story short I was very content with the Burger and Beer choice. We got a table and looked over the menus to order. Then one thing dramatically changed me from being just content to being ecstatic. Above the specialty burgers in regular font (kind of small) was gluten-free buns! “No way?!” I thought to myself. How had I missed that Burger and Beer (a very solid burger choice in general) now had gluten-free buns?! I excitedly shared the news with the table. Unfortunately the only one who really would care (another gluten-free) had an old menu (sans the gluten-free bun listing) and that led to some confusion for a minute or so. But after it was confirmed by others’ eyes, we were both looking forward quite a bit more to our meal.

I went for the Thunder Road burger, which is 1/2 pound of the black Angus beef burger, bacon, American cheese, and BBQ sauce. I asked for no BBQ sauce (didn’t want it in general, so did not ask if it’s gluten-free). You never know what to expect with gluten-free buns (especially in a place like Miami that’s only recently developing gluten-free awareness and options). However the gluten-free bun was pretty great! It reminded me a lot of the burger bun from The Counter in Aventura/Miami International Airport (maybe even is the same brand). Not crumbly at all and not too dry. Combined with the Thunder Road, which is my favorite burger at B&B and a great burger combination in general (bacon and American cheese), it overall was pretty heavenly. Great flavors from the bun with the burger and the bacon and the cheese. And such a great experience to be able to eat the burger with my hands! Even with gluten-free buns becoming more common, I still haven’t really gotten over the experience of eating burgers with my hand (especially when it’s a good bun). Two thumbs up absolutely for the gluten-free bun at Burger and Beer Joint!

The next day after this experience, I went to the Miami International Auto Show with my little brother (blog post here). The Miami Beach Convention Center wasn’t too far from Burger and Beer, so I already decided that’s where we were going for lunch (yes I was already craving it again after only about 12 hours). This time I went for another old favorite, which was make-your-own where I did the patty (I chose different ones depending on my mood), bacon, and then this jalapeno cheddar sauce they have there. I always had liked the flavors of that together and I thought the cheddar sauce would also compliment the burger bun well (more flavor and moisture). This time I went for the regular Angus beef and overall it was pretty good. The bun was still great. However, it just didn’t have the same heavenly-ness of the Thunder Road the night before. In case you were wondering the night before was not only an early night, but also an easy night. So alcohol was not a factor in loving Thunder Road more than my make-your-own burger.

My thoughts were only confirmed a weekend or two later when I visited the Brickell Burger and Beer Joint (my old stomping grounds) and did the Thunder Road with a gluten-free bun. Again really awesome! Just such classic taste of bread, beef, bacon, and cheese!

I’m very excited to have Burger and Beer as a new top choice for gluten-free buns in Miami (along with The Counter) and glad it’s a place that has good burgers to begin with. A lot of options with their specialty burgers and many different toppings with make-your-own. If you’re in Miami and craving burgers this gets a general recommendation, but if you’re gluten-free it gets a strong recommendation for the gluten-free buns.

Burger and Beer Joint- locations in Brickell, South Beach, Pembroke Pines, and Orlando